Tootling down the Tenn-Tom

Locking through and moving south, visited Columbus Marina (very nice), Pirates Marina Cove (lots of rescued puppies to enjoy!), and Demopoulis harbor (lots of tugs refueling). On the way there were beautiful rock bluffs, some very nice (and some not so nice) homes, and in one yard a phone booth! Just south of Demopoulis harbor, in the Demopoulis lock, we tied up behind our friends on Omega, whom we hadn't seen since Lee Spry Marina (home of the famous bottom job). We rafted together for an anchorage that night and enjoyed getting reacquainted over dinner. Saturday morning was exciting, because during the night we had drifted closer to shore and Omega was aground. Bill called at 6 a.m. to let us know, so we scrambled up, untied and retied, and pulled him out further. It was too foggy to leave yet, so we just dropped another hook and joined them for breakfast (in pajamas). When the fog cleared we enjoyed another sunny day on the way to Bobby's Fish Camp. We enjoyed a catfish dinner there to the point of gluttony, then hit the sack. Sunday morning started very early too, however, since we heard on the radio that Coffeeville Lock (the last of the famous Tenn-Tom 12 and the total of 18 since we left) would be closed for minor repairs in the morning. They waited for us to make the short trip, and we made it through just in time....to start preparing for Ida's imminent arrival....

Leaning toward better days...

Sunday was quite an adventure. We planned to stop at Aberdeen Marina, since it would be dark early and we don't exactly speed along. The cruise guide showed 6-8' channels into the marina, but cruisers were reporting 4.5'. With a draft of exactly 6', we opted for an anchorage across the waterway which the cruise guide reported as having 10-12' draft in the entrance. Aberdeen Lock was temporarily closed for minor electrical repairs, so we had very little choice. Unfortunately, shoals, wind and current conspired to lodge us firmly in the mud, with less than 6' underneath our NEWLY PAINTED BOTTOM!! The lockmaster at Aberdeen saw our predicament and called the US Coast Guard Auxiliary to help us. Two kind gentlemen arrived within the hour, and after much spinning and pulling, we floated again. Thankfully, by then the lock was operable and we managed to find a wonderful anchorage with 20' of water and a full moon and get the hook down just before dark.

Now, about those pina coladas and sunsets........

The Tenn-Tom in all its glory

Three of the twelve locks are under our belts (keel), and we're sharing the waterway with lots of Great Loopers returning to their home ports after completing the circle (around Florida, up the east coast, west through Canada and the Great Lakes, south down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, to the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom to Mobile and on back to Florida). There was a rally at Joe Wheeler Dam and Marina last weekend, so there's a lot of traffic from trawlers and cruisers.

We also share (or they share with us) the waterway with tugboats, pushboats and barges (this is the Diane Siegel), since this is a major commercial waterway. The operators of both the commercial boats and the locks are very courteous and helpful, and we sincerely hope all pleasure boaters will be the same.

For those who think the waterway is a long and boring ditch, this is our third trip on it in three different seasons, and it's still gorgeous!

Wet again and on the way!

The red grit is almost out of our ears, teeth, eyelashes, etc., and we've been splashed and are on our way again. Lee Spry is a wonderful working marina, with a great staff and owners. This was our second visit there, and we highly recommend it. We met some new best friends, Bill and Charlotte on Omega, who were also sanding, patching, and polishing their teeth with blue instead of red (he looks like Darth Vader and Papa Smurf). After sharing the courtesy truck for a final trip to Lowe's, we had a goodbye dinner on Omega.

Working, working....

Sanding done, painting done (except for where the pads are to hold her up on the hard), most buffing done.....where are the sunsets and pina coladas? Where are the sandy beaches? The lobster?

I've been tricked again!!

Hard work on the hard

Miss Dippity is at Lee Spry Marina, a working boat yard. We've sanded, scraped, washed, and heat-gunned till our hands don't work. We're staying at the Victorian Inn in Iuka, Mississippi -- a quaint little place that has a gorgeous big white dog in the lobby and two friendly cats (one multiracial and one huge mostly Siamese). We couldn't stay on the boat because our refrigeration and our flushes are water-dependent (and it's a long climb down that ladder in the middle of the night!). We plan to splash on Monday, at which time we'll sport a new coat (or two) of bottom paint, a newly waxed hull, a newly replumbed emergency bilge pump, and hopefully a working oven....this may suck since the Admiral hasn't had to bake anything in the last 5 years! The fuel and water tanks will also be inspected and cleaned before we leave. We've had the use of a courtesy pickup truck, which makes it much easier to drive 20 miles to Iuka every night. Plans are to leave Tuesday morning for Bay Springs Marina, beginning our journey in the 30-mile divide cut canal of the Tom-Bigbee Waterway.

The Eagle has Flown!

We are SO gone! Finally, with frogs and turtles and cats and dogs raining down, we left Blue Springs on Friday, Oct. 9. The weather cleared as soon as we hit the channel, and October's beauty has been all around. We did freeze our fannies off for a day or two, and we did have some rain, but to quote William, it does not suck. We spent a few days in Chattanooga with two of our three children and our two sweet grandbabies, then headed south again. We're now in Florence, AL for a day or two, then will head to Lee Spry Marina for some boat work (new bottom -- unfortunately, for the boat and not the crew) before we traverse the Tom Bigbee Waterway. We've been through 6 of the 18 locks necessary to reach salt water, and have settled into the traveling life we knew before.